Memoirs of Desolation
by Shedauwz
Summary: AU. That which was left behind by legend guides us to the future, yet whether or not the mistakes of the past will be learned from is uncertain. Fate guides her to him, and entangles their destinies in a deadly dance of mystery, danger, and passion. However, fate does not stand behind them, but acts as a wall separating their two worlds, forcing her to watch as he embraces chaos.
1. New Girl

**_A/N:_**_ New story. Can't get the concept out of my head. Plus NaLu. Yes, I'm trying NaLu. Hope you like it. Now, read. Thanks._

* * *

_**Memoirs of Desolation**_

* * *

Peace.

An eternal, never ending dream, shared by those thoughtful enough to remember times said to have been forgotten. A vision embraced by those bearing an imagination of a child who everyone would call naive. But isn't it because of this single thought which people call irrational that the phenomenon known as peace doesn't even have the slightest chance to prosper? Or is it because the roots of revenge are carved so deep into our souls that we unintentionally turn a blind eye to the concept?

Ah, the eternal dilemma no one seems to be able to solve. Truthfully, it seems even more perplexing than the so-called 'hot topic' that is the meaning of life. Or perhaps, those two are intertwined, like the strings of fate that bind us to the path we take, changing our destination with every passing moment, switching our roads from the sun-coated fields to the dreaded damp and dark forests.

However, no matter where fate deems you worthy to traverse, it is ultimately you who decides which path to take. The threads the supernatural uses to bind us is not something that cannot be cut or broken, but it takes an individual with an extremely powerful force of will to accomplish such a feat; something I, I'm afraid, was not capable of.

Hear me, dear readers, for these are my thoughts, my confessions, my dreams, and the events that shaped my life, all of which were clawed away at by vengeance, chaos, and guilt. Everything that I can remember up until now; _everything_ will be put on paper for you to take in, digest, and hopefully use to learn. In writing this, I hope that, whoever picks this up, will reflect on my words, and be able to stay far away from the path that fate thought me worthy of.

"To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man… huh?"

The tram shook violently and slowly squealed to a stop, the ear-wrenching sound resounding throughout the whole of the high-end district. The people within the packed vehicle rustled, and some went towards the exit, while others simply moved away from the paths of those rushing to get out.

"_Belcross Academy. Next stop: Marseilles Cathedral._"

As soon as the doors of the tram opened, teenagers sprung from its insides, and all took to their feet towards a shared destination. Some walked slowly, some took their time to meet with their friends and chitchat about the events that occurred during the long yet too short summer vacation. One girl in particular just stood by as the tram left for its next stop, and stared, wide-eyed and awestruck, at the humongous district in which she found herself.

Her mother had told her about Crocus and Belcross Academy when she was just a child, but seeing the sight for herself proved to be a different experience altogether. The academy grounds were situated on a large building of a sort, encompassing around a square kilometer of space, and was surrounded by gigantic skyscrapers that pierced the sky. For what the building on which she was standing on was used she did not know, however she was too mesmerized by the sight around her for the thought to even cross her mind. The sun shone from the clear blue skies above, its rays of light ricocheting off of the many glassy structures surrounding her, creating an area completely enshrouded by sunlight, emphasizing its radiating beauty all the more.

Shaking her head to get her mind out of the gutter, the blonde girl placed the old journal she had been reading back in her bag. She was careful not to injure the old memoirs of a person she knew not of, but she was definitely interested in its contents. She was a writer herself, after all, so any and every source of inspiration helped her out; especially when it's something from the Great Magi War and the Technological Era that preceded it.

The girl was of average height, and possessed a set of deep hazel eyes, slightly covered by her long and bright blonde hair. Her curvaceous figure was covered with the usual clothing the students of Belcross Academy adorned; for boys, it was a uniform consisting of black suit pants and a blue blazer, underneath which was a black vest and a white shirt, with a red tie on the neck. For girls, the uniform was much alike; the only thing that differed was that they had to wear a skirt ending at the mid-section of the thigh instead of pants.

'_Come on Lucy, it's your first day in this Academy. Don't make a fool out of yourself now._' The girl thought to herself, trying to keep her eyes away from the many blimps of the Happy cat floating in the sky. Nodding to herself, she stepped forward and proceeded through the pathway that led to the academy's grounds. The trek along the brick road took seemingly longer than she anticipated, yet she didn't mind. She still had a while before her classes started, so she took the time to appreciate the forestry surrounding her. Truly, she felt that the mixture of a technological metropolis and a magical sanctuary of nature was something serene. Various holographic checkpoints portrayed as arrows led her to her destination, entangled by the rare thread of magic that this place leaked uncontrollably. The sight manifested itself like a picture from a child's fairy tale book, and that made her remember her mother and the many different stories she told her.

'_No wonder mom loved it here._' Lucy thought with a smile as she blended into a crowd of students, figuring it would be easier to just follow them to the entrance of the school.

She realized that her decision was the right one when her eyes were set upon the large white structure that was the academy itself, situated in the very middle of the large pedestal-like building she was standing on, '_…and no wonder this place looks so extravagant. It has a pedestal and everything!_' She sweatdropped at the image of the building and its craftsmanship; it was beautiful in every sense of the word, yet the money that must have went into building just this structure in particular probably cost more than her entire konzen was worth.

Without waiting any longer, the blonde girl entered the academy, and she once again felt awestruck at the sight of the interior. It was more like a mansion than a school, if she were to be painfully honest. But she didn't find it surprising; Belcross was a name known not only in Fiore, but the whole of Earthland.

"Out of the way!" Lucy felt something bumping against her back rather harshly, and she found herself hitting the floor face first.

"Oww…" She muttered while rubbing her face and trying to get up. Her eyes groggily scanned the area, only to find a groaning petite blue haired girl, rubbing her behind while trying to stand up.

"I'm so sorry!" The girl cried out as she scurried to help Lucy to her feet, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, somehow…" Lucy replied with a smile, dusting herself off. Lifting her head up, she quirked an eyebrow when she saw the petite girl scrutinizing her curiously, "...what? Is something on my face?" She asked somewhat hesitantly, and the blunette's brown eyes met Lucy's.

"Are you new? I haven't seen you before." The girl questioned, to which the blonde chuckled nervously before mustering a reply.

"It's that obvious? Yeah, I just transferred today. I'm Lucy, nice to meet you." She introduced herself, and the blunette smiled brightly at her in response.

"Nice to meet you too! My name's-"

"Oi, Levy, stop pestering the new girl already or you'll be late!" Someone from the crowd of students walking through the halls spoke, and Lucy couldn't help but let her head slump down in defeat.

'_It's _that_ obvious?_'

"I'm coming, Jet! Jeez." The girl, now known as Levy, shouted a response in slight annoyance, before redirecting her attention to Lucy, "As I was saying, my name is Levy McGarden. It's nice to meet you, Lucy."

"Likewise." The blonde replied with a smile and a nod of her head. She felt glad that she could meet someone on her first day here. At least being the 'new girl' wouldn't be as awkward as she thought it would. No, awkward wasn't the right word. Awkward it was, but it definitely wasn't as lonely. Then, as the girls waved goodbye to each other, something struck her; she was in a completely new school, and she had class in two or so minutes. She had no idea where to go! "Hey, Levy!"

"Yeah?" The bluenette questioned after hearing the new girl call, and turned around to notice her trying to catch up, "What's up?"

"Umm…" Lucy fiddled with her bag for a short while, before taking out a somewhat crumpled piece of paper and unfolding it, "It's kind of embarrassing to say this, but I literally have no idea where to go. Can you help me out?"

Levy stared at her with a clueless expression, before bursting out in a fit of laughter which made Lucy frown slightly, "Ah, I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. Don't worry, we all go through that same process eventually. Let's see… Oh! You're in 3A!"

"And that means what exactly?"

"Oh nothing… just that you're in the best class ever to be gathered in the history of Belcross Academy." McGarden replied with a cheeky chuckle, "Come on, we have Runes and Ciphers in 305!" She grabbed Lucy's hand and drug the girl through the hall towards the stairs, something that Lucy didn't necessarily appreciate seeing as how she and Levy differed quite a bit in bust sizes… and crawling through the academy's student body with a petite girl in the lead proved to be quite the arduous task.

Lucy panted heavily as the two of them finally reached the third floor and their appointed classroom, "Decided to drag the newbie along with you, eh?" A person whose voice the blonde vaguely recognized asked before two figures emerged from the crowd of teenagers scurrying to their classes.

"She's in our class. Lucy, meet Jet and Droy." Levy introduced as she pointed to an orange haired man with a hat, and secondly to a tall slim man with strange black hair.

"N-nice to meet you." She greeted, still finding it rather difficult to catch her breath. Moments later, the small group of four entered the class, and Lucy found herself sitting at the very back of the room, in the middle row. She watched as different people entered the same classroom and took their seats, all of them greeting each other and casting curious glances towards her. Soon, the bell rang, and, as if on cue, a man with long light green hair entered the class, his uncovered blue eye scanning the people present.

"Welcome back everyone. How was your summer?" The man questioned with a smile, and instantly chatter erupted within the large room as people discussed with one another the events that they couldn't describe during their short time before class. The man sighed, and waved his hand, "Quiet down. I know all of you had fun, but wait until after class is over." As he said this, nods of affirmation moved the heads of the people present, and the place remained silent.

"Okay, let's see who of you are present." He said as he voiced out a list of names in a roll call, "Oh, someone new? Lucy Heartfilia." Lucy's ears perked up, and she silently gasped in surprise before hurrying to stand at attention. The teacher gave her a quick look through, before smiling, "It's nice to meet you, Miss Heartfilia, my name is Freed Justine. I hope you're finding this academy to your liking. Tell me, why did you transfer here?"

The blonde girl remained silent for a few seconds, feeling herself become more nervous by each passing second she had to spend in the spotlight under all those curious gazes. Her eyes met hazel, and she sighed inwardly in relief when she noticed Levy's smile. At least she wasn't totally unknown.

"Thank you, Mr. Justine. My father's business took us to Crocus from Magnolia, and my mother attended this academy in the past. She told me a lot about this institution and how amazing it was, errr, is, and I wanted to see for myself."

'_Layla's daughter, I presume._' Freed thought with a knowing smirk before nodding, "That's good. I'm sure you'll find your stay here even better than what your mother described." He assured, and continued with the roll call, which prompted the girl to sit back down in her seat. She glanced back to Levy, and giggled quietly when she saw her holding both her thumbs up.

"Natsu Dragneel?" Freed paused, and Lucy caught the tired sigh that escaped his throat when no one spoke up, "Not today either, huh…" He paused yet again, and continued with the roll call. The blonde haired girl glanced to her left side, and noticed that the seat next to the window was completely empty, yet untouched. It probably belonged to this Natsu person, if no one took it. The back window seat was the best seat in the class, after all.

* * *

After the bell signaling the end of class rang, Lucy slumped down in her seat and rested her forehead against the table, '_First day of school being difficult wasn't just a rumor. Well… it was more like an understatement._' She thought to herself with an inward huff. She was feeling exhausted, and she had at least five more classes left for today.

"Hey." A familiar voice woke her from her musings, and her head rose to meet the happy face of Levy, "Feeling beat already?"

Lucy hummed in response and nodded her head, "Yeah. Going to school is definitely different from homeschooling."

"You were homeschooled?" The bluenette answered with a question to which the other girl nodded in affirmation, "Sounds nice. But school still beats homeschooling."

Lucy blinked, "And why's that?"

"Well, first there's the teacher actually explaining everything thoroughly, answering any questions you have, and giving examples. And then…" She smiled from ear to ear, and motioned towards the entire class, "There's all these people to keep you company."

The blonde stared at the other girl, somewhat surprised, before cracking a smile in her direction, "Yeah, I guess you're right." She paused, "I don't know anybody besides you, Jet and Droy though."

"Ah, but that can be easily rectified." She stood up, and Lucy quickly caught on to what she was about to do. She tried to stop her, but there was just no stopping this small yet extremely fast girl, "Hey, everyone! Come say hi to the new girl!"

'_New girl again…_' Lucy thought with slight embarrassment, hiding her face in her arms by slumping down in her seat.

"Pestering her already Levy?"

"Yeah, give the girl a break."

"Getting used to a new school probably isn't as easy as it looks."

"Oh come on, that's why I'm making you guys meet her!"

Feeling her curiosity eating away at her, Lucy finally raised her head to glance at the people present, and was nicely surprised when she noticed that she was completely surrounded by most of the class. Talk about overkill.

"Hello there~ My name's Loki, and I think I've fallen in love." A man of a rather dark shade of orange hair hummed while talking as he crouched down near Lucy's lap, causing the blonde to recoil back with a slight blush on her features.

"L-L-L-L-L-Lucy… N-Nice to meet you…." The blonde stuttered out, trying her best to hide both her embarrassment and shock from the rest of the group.

A tired sigh reverberated through the classroom, before the crouching womanizer was slapped on the head and sent smashing against the floor rather violently, "Loki, what have I said about teasing girls?"

"T-that I must not do such a misdeed, Erza-sama." Loki answered with a stammer, making sure to quickly disappear from the woman's sight.

Heartfilia quickly regained her bearings, and her eyes locked on those of the red haired beauty standing in front of her. Instantly, she felt a pang of jealousy towards her; she was simply beautiful and radiant in every way possible. Her long, crimson hair, her deep brown eyes, and her curvaceous figure made a combination Lucy found to be perfection, '_The school's uniform does not do her any justice. I wonder how she'd look in a dress…_' She was quickly brought out of her musings when the woman's voice rung through her mind.

"…I'm Erza Scarlet, head of Belcross Academy's Disciplinary Committee." She said, and Lucy gulped down. Disciplinary Committee fit this woman, in a way.

"N-Nice to meet you, Erza-san."

"You don't need to use the honorific, Lucy. You're a part of our class now, which means you're family." A man of azure hair suddenly stated as he appeared from behind the redhead. Lucy noticed the strange red tattoo the man had over his right eye, and she couldn't help but be awed by how it fit his features and contrasted the color of his hair.

"Even if you're the Council President, I don't think you can decide whether or not she needs to use it, Jellal." A man of wild raven hair interjected, his dark blue eyes staring at the whole event rather disinterestedly.

"Gray, clothes!" A woman of short white hair spoke this time, her blue eyes narrowed, locked on the brunette who had seemingly lost the upper part of his clothes out of nowhere.

"Hello, Lucy." Another beauty of long white hair with a small pony tail over her forehead spoke. She smiled as she leaned forward, her big blue eyes seemingly staring into the blonde's soul, "It's nice to have a new face here. My name's Mirajane. These are my siblings, Lisanna and Elfman." Mira spoke as she pointed to the white haired girl from before and a tall, bulky man of the same colored hair. Well, bulky wasn't the right word, since the man's muscles scared her to a degree… and him screaming 'nee-chan is a real MAN!' was rather unsettling as well.

"Oi, Cana, get your hung over ass up and meet the new girl." Gray shouted, and Lucy's stare was directed to a brown haired woman who was snoring lightly with her face resting on her desk. She woke up momentarily, glanced over to Lucy, winked, waved, and went back to sleep. For some reason, Lucy found the wink extremely suggestive, which made her cheeks adapt a light shade of pink, "Geh, that drunk never changes."

Lucy couldn't help but be surprised by how immersed everyone was into their own world. She was amazed at how easily every single one of them accepted her, and weren't just pretending to be someone nice, but were being themselves. It was like she was a part of their small community from the get-go, even though this was the first hour she spent with them. The blonde couldn't help the small smile that took over her features; she felt extremely glad to have come here already. She had assumed that it would take a long time for her to get used to being admitted into a new school, and forging bonds of friendship with people, yet these certain individuals accepted her like it was their second nature.

"Hey, Lucy?" She was once again awoken from her own thoughts, and her eyes glanced curiously at Levy, "We're going to town after class to catch up. Maybe you want to join us?"

"That's a great idea, Levy." Erza interjected, showing both girls a smile of her own, "That will give us a chance to get to know you better too."

Lucy pondered the thought, wondering if she should go or not. She didn't have anything to do after class ended, and she didn't know much about Crocus either. This would be like killing two birds with one stone; she could get to know people from her class, and would be acquainted with the city itself.

Her smile grew, and she stared back at Levy, "When you put it like that, I can't refuse."

* * *

Lucy sighed tiredly as she sat on the bench of a moving tram, her eyes drifting towards the window only to notice how dark it had gotten. She checked her phone – it was 9PM already. She shook her head and chuckled quietly; time really flies when you spend it with friends.

Yes, after the evening with her new class she could easily call everyone there a friend. She got to know everyone better, and allowed others to get to know her. Having been homeschooled for most of her life, she could definitely say the experience was different, yet not an unwelcome one. She found out that Levy was the head of the Literature Club, and was actively searching for new members; something Lucy didn't find unappealing considering her love of books and writing. She also found out that Erza and Jellal had a past, what kind of past, however, they didn't say. What she did know for sure though, was that the two were more than friends. Again, they didn't elaborate, but the way they got embarrassed when you addressed their friendship as 'something more' was a dead give-away and a good sort of amusement.

That was exactly how Lucy became better friends with Cana. The girl loved to collect dirt on people, and to quench her need for that sort of amusement by cracking suggestive jokes towards those unlucky enough. Lucy wasn't the type to make fun of people, but she couldn't deny that she found it amusing how both of them began to stutter when brought under the spotlight.

She had also found out that all of them were extremely capable mages. She tried not to pry too much to not seem overly curious, but in the end she still found out that, contrary to her appearance, Erza was a real monster on the battlefield. Gray, who seemed like the type to not be swayed by anything, literally shook in his seat when asked about Erza's battle-power.

"_I… Erza is… was… is…_"

Lucy remembered how he simply turned away and refused to disclose anything further. Going by Mira's explanation, Gray had quite a bad experience with her in the past. Something about him being crushed in front of the whole student body in a training regime designated to show the first years how to use magic in a combat situation. Apparently, Gray was playing the attacker, and Erza, from what Lucy could tell, couldn't really hold back.

Heartfilia chuckled at the memory, and thought back on how much all of them laughed at the poor guy. Of course, Erza had apologized, but she implicitly stated that it was Gray's own fault for not training enough. Subtle apparently wasn't in her vocabulary.

"_Dear passengers; there has been an unscheduled change in tram routes. The next stop, Vextra Harbor, will be the last one due to repairs in tramways. We are sorry for any inconveniences this might have caused."_

Lucy's eyes glanced at her phone once again, and she gulped down worriedly. Okay, this was _not_ going to ruin her day. As soon as the tram stopped, she stepped out of the vehicle, and looked around; the place was completely foreign to her, which was not surprising considering it was her first week in the city. She noticed a man of blue hair with a tattoo above his right brow sitting on a bench in the stop, and felt rather unsettled after seeing his eyes locked on her and a smirk on his features.

Almost without thinking, Lucy averted her gaze from the man, and decided to bolt from the area when an ominous feeling overtook her. She did not like the man's stare, nor his strange smile, especially since she found herself in a place she knew less than nothing about. She took many a quick step to exit the tram station, and proceeded to walk through a dark alleyway, completely shadowed by rusted buildings of the old age. They were tall, bulky structures, without many a window to let any light pass through them. What window she did spot, however, was encased in pitch-black darkness.

After feeling a dangerous gaze on her, Lucy's head turned over her shoulder, and she saw, wide-eyed, as the man of blue hair was now following her through the alleyways, his phone close to his ear as he spoke with a disturbing grin on his face. She gasped, and felt a cold sweat cover her body, before she quickly shifted gears into a stride and made her way down the never ending pathways between the tall dark buildings.

Lucy felt her breathing becoming heavier by the second, and her eyes widened even further when she found herself at a dead end, stuck between the man closing in from behind her, and two other shady men who were snickering darkly as they stared back at her.

"You found quite a catch, Bora-san." One of the two thugs spoke through his cackling, "Looks like she's from Belcross Academy too."

"Holy shit, just look at her tits. Are all the girls there like that?"

"Now, now; don't startle her or this will become even more difficult." A voice rung out from behind the blonde girl, prompting her to turn around and gasp when she found the same man of blue hair standing directly behind her, around a meter from her, '_When did he…?_'

"Shhh… stay quiet and come with us. We won't hurt you." The man who Lucy assumed to be Bora spoke as he leaned closer towards her. Suddenly, Heartfilia could feel a warm feeling overtaking her, and she felt her vision getting blurry. She was losing consciousness without any apparent reason, and she figured out why when the blue haired man moved his hand to touch her cheek and she saw the ring on his index finger.

Lucy found the energy to move, and slapped the man's hand away, "Get away from me!" She shrieked loudly and pushed through Bora, breaking into a run towards the exit of the dead-end.

"Tch, she saw through the charm, huh? Get her and you can have all the fun you want!" Bora ordered his henchmen, and the men grinned like hungry dogs as they stared at her running form.

"Don't mind if we do!" In mere moments, one of the men managed to catch Lucy's hand, and was pulling her back into the alley, "Come quietly, you-"

Suddenly, Lucy felt her body jerking backwards as no one pulled on her anymore, and she fell on the ground, her head hitting the cold and hard ground. Her head was spinning from all the adrenaline and the blood rushing into her brain. The slight head trauma she just experienced didn't work in her favor either as she could barely see anything, yet she still tried to examine what had happened.

Her eyes turned back to where Bora was, and she was met with the sight of a back turned towards her, and a lean, muscular figure, standing tall in the darkness. She couldn't discern who the person was, but she realized that this man had most likely jumped from up high as his boot was pinning one of the thugs' head to the ground which had cracked under the pressure of his landing. She saw Bora's mouth move, yet she did not hear his words; she hit her head harder than she thought, and she could feel a sense of dread wash over her. She could, however, hear what the mysterious man was saying, and the words he spoke sent a shiver down her spine, yet also made her feel a sense of trust towards him.

"Quit staring at me, blondie." Slowly, the man's head turned over his shoulder, and the only aspect of him she could discern due to her dizzy state and the hood that covered his head were his sharp onyx eyes that pierced her with a ferocious gaze, "Get out of here, now."

Lucy's whole body shook in fear, yet she could hear and comprehend his words as if they were imprinted in her mind. She scurried to stand up, and ran as fast as she could, her head never turning back. She just ran, and escape was the single thing that occupied her thoughts until she heard the sound of police sirens.

* * *

Heartfilia sighed tiredly as she sat in her seat, her mind mulling over the events that had happened the previous day as she touched the bandage that was wrapped around her head near her temple, "You sure it was nothing, Lucy?" Her eyes moved to meet the concerned gaze of Levy, and Lucy could tell that the girl was feeling guilty for leaving her alone in a city she knew nothing about.

The blonde girl feigned a smile, and shook her head dismissively with a slight hum, "No, really, I just fell. I'm clumsy like that."

"Clumsy is an understatement. You really had us worried, you know?" The bluenette asked and sighed in relief, "I'm glad you're okay though. All of us are, really." She admitted, and Lucy nodded in gratitude before McGarden left for her seat as the bell signaling the start of class rang.

Her excuse, however, was just that – an excuse. She consciously lied to her new friend as to not worry her. Well, she did not exactly lie; she did fall and injure herself. She did hide the whole story though. After she ran out of the alleyway, she managed to get a hold of some police officers who had called an ambulance for her. The paramedics arrived in mere minutes, and, while they were treating her, a police officer came to question her if she could describe what had happened. She told them that she couldn't remember exactly what had occurred due to her head injury, and she later found out that Bora and his henchmen were found pinned with heated chains to one of the walls in the alley with serious burn injuries covering the whole of their bodies.

The girl kept wondering what had happened, and her mind kept mulling over it left and right, trying to figure out who that mysterious man was. All she could discern were his eyes; cold, stern, yet concerned, and his voice, which denoted everything she needed to do without room for argument.

She leaned back in her seat, and sighed for what seemed like the umpteenth time this morning. There really was no point in trying to figure out what the heck happened the other night; this was the capital of the country, and she was unlucky enough to find herself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Lucy Heartfilia."

"Here." Lucy answered Freed's roll call and raised her hand tiredly, before finding herself lost in her own thoughts again. Even though she tried to convince herself that what happened was simple bad luck, she still felt it was a traumatic experience. She had never before in her life been exposed to that kind of situation due to her father's overprotectiveness, and something like this hit her all at once. The police officer had told her that the men that were after her were notorious slave traders, and the blonde girl dreaded to think what would have happened if the man who had saved her hadn't appeared.

Suddenly, the door to the class was opened violently, waking even Lucy from her thoughts as she focused on the man who had arrived. Strangely enough, she did not recognize him, and she reckoned that he wasn't present the day before. He was of average height and had a slim, yet muscular and lean build. His hair was colored a bright pink, and was spiked up in every direction with a few bangs covering his forehead, yet leaving his sharp pitch-black eyes untouched. He wore his own version of the academy's uniform; his blazer was unbuttoned, and he completely discarded the black vest and red tie, with only the white shirt covering his body, yet leaving the upper part unbuttoned and the lower part untucked. He also wore a pair of somewhat skinny black jeans, and clean white sneakers. A distinct addition to his apparel was the scaly white scarf, loosely wrapped around his neck.

The pink haired individual threw his backpack over his right shoulder, and proceeded to move to his seat. Momentarily, his and Lucy's eyes locked, and the girl couldn't help but feel like she had seen him somewhere before he sat down to her left, near the window seat.

"Natsu Dragneel."

The newly arrived individual raised his hand lazily, and Freed glared at him, "Why weren't you present yesterday?"

He rolled his eyes and groaned quietly, "Figured it was still Sunday so I slept in."

Lucy zoned every single thing but the pink haired man out of her mind as she heard his voice, and her eyes widened as they kept watching him. Her brain started overanalyzing things, and she was slowly starting to piece the parts together. The man noticed her, and their eyes met once again.

"Quit staring at me, blondie."

Her eyes widened even more when she remembered the events from the night before.

_"Quit staring at me, blondie. Get out of here, now._"

Her hazel eyes remained locked on his, and he stared back at her with an annoyed expression. She remembered the onyx orbs that addressed at her through the cover of a darkened hood, and now she could recall one other thing that she completely disregarded due to her injury and the complexity of the situation.

A strand of pink hair.

'_It's him_.'


	2. The More You Know

_**A/N:** Another update so soon? Hell yes. Oh, and thanks for the reviews you guys left. They mean a lot, y'know? Anywho, read on. And review some moar, please. Thanks._

* * *

_**Memoirs of Desolation**_

* * *

As far as I can remember, when I drew my first breath, when I took my first step, and when I explored this world, I was ruled by curiosity. That is to be expected of a young man, is it not? Without curiosity, nothing is born. If one is not curious of their surroundings, and of the bigger picture as a whole, one cannot evolve past the barriers of their birth. If the concept of interest is foreign to you, all you will accomplish is wasting your life away at the whims of a daily routine, set out for you by the shackles you put on your own mind and body.

I was born the most curious of them all, and I aspired to quench this endless desire for new knowledge and experience. From the time I could breathe – I inhaled deeply; from the time I could open my eyes - I stargazed; from the time I could walk - I ran. What someone would call tragedy surrounded my life ever since birth, but through the help of those who dared care for a war orphan such as myself, I was able to crawl through catastrophe, and stand up on my own two feet to climb towards the precipice of glory, and fall to the deepest reaches of despair.

That is what curiosity can bring you – calamity, or salvation. It is a dangerous desire to fill, indeed. Much like a double edged sword, it can work against you, as well as for you. That is the risk we as human beings must take to feel the consequences of the actions fuelled by enquiry. That is the risk we as parts of the universe must take upon ourselves for a shift in existence to occur.

Curiosity is the bullet, and that leap of faith is the weapon with which our actions can manifest into a vicissitude caused by the Devil, or the eminence of a God.

"…Natsu?" Levy's voice rung out rather hesitantly upon hearing the blonde's question, and Lucy hummed and nodded as she closed her personal locker, having taken the books required for her next class, "Why him?"

"I… I'm just wondering who he is. I mean, he didn't come to class the day before." She paused, remembering the events that had happened back in the alleyway of Vextra's harbor, "…and he has this… I don't know, _different_ aura about him. It's like, even though he was in class today, he wasn't."

The bluenette hummed at Heartfilia's question, and assumed a thinking pose, her eyes drifting from the floor to Lucy, then back to the floor again, "I don't think you should involve yourself with him, Lucy."

The blonde blinked a few times at the statement in surprise. As far as she knew, the class was a tight-knit community; almost like a family. It was strange that Levy, of all people, would say something like that about someone in the same class as her and all the others. However, when asked why, her only reply was a shake of her head before the two girls went back to class.

She sat down near her usual spot, and she noticed that, even though it was a different classroom altogether, the members of 3A all took the same spots they sat on in Freed's class. She would call it unusual, but she had no reason to complain seeing as how she was sitting at the very back – a place where she could allow herself some room for thought.

A quiet snore woke her from her thoughts, and she saw the mysterious pinkette sitting in his seat to her left, leaning back in his chair, soundly asleep. She took this opportunity to examine him once more; the strange and bright pink hair, those sharp yet handsome features on his face, the messy clothing that covered his lean build, and that strange, somewhat ominous yet alluding aura. It was a strange combination, she figured. Her memories momentarily took her back to the day she was almost kidnapped by Bora and his goons, and the contrast of Natsu's fierce, battle-ready form, to his serene, sleeping state was peculiar indeed.

Her train of thought was cut off, however, when one of the man's eyes shot open and glared at her fiercely, "Oi, you're getting annoying." The girl quickly averted her gaze from him, and shook her head madly, trying to get his piercing stare out of her mind.

'_Who does he think he is?! Jeez!_' She fumed inwardly, although she couldn't dismiss what he said. She _has_ been staring at him all morning, after all. But could you really blame her? Her mind was aflutter with mysteries, and she was trying to make ends meet.

"Good morning." A short old man greeted as he entered the room, and Lucy directed her eyes towards him to divert her thoughts from Natsu to something else entirely.

"Oi, Yajima-sensei, please tell me we aren't gonna go through something boring again."

"Gray!" Erza reprimanded the brunette, and he recoiled back in his seat in response to her harsh tone.

'_…is he Erzaphobic or something?_'

Their teacher only chuckled before responding, "No, I have something interesting planned for today's class. As you all know from previous classes, after the Great Magi War ended with a fierce battle that tore through the northern regions of the country almost eight hundred years ago, this establishment came into existence under the name of its creator, Nova Belcross. Tell me, do any of you know who he was?"

'_Nova Belcross… the man who created not only the academy but who was also one of the founding pillars of the Magic Council._' Lucy remembered what she was taught when she was homeschooled. During the entry period to this Academy, she had a grueling entry-exam to take; something for which she studied a tad too much.

From what she could remember, Belcross was one of the most influential generals that stood against those who brought magic into this world to shape it to their fancy only to later try to overtake it. That war was exactly where he received his nickname, Nexus, and his legendary combat styles and war-strategies became the material teachers in schools all over the world used to teach their students. However, the legitimacy of the claims that surround the faction opposing Earthland still remain a mystery even to this day. That was because, even in a world of magic, it was still extremely hard to believe that demons actually existed. After the war was over, magic became a vital part of the world that knew only technology, and its timeline was promptly reset from 2078 to X1.

Belcross later proceeded to create the academy together with his war-buddies and fellow generals in order to teach the new generation of children born with innate magic the skills and disciplines needed to use their powers for the better of the world itself. It quickly rose as the very first school to have magic as the basis of its curriculum, and students from all over the world flooded its gates, as well as funding from other countries was a given. His reputation climbed dramatically, and the fruits of his labor at the academy manifested in the form of extremely able mages whose names covered history books.

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. I wonder which one applies to him."

However, magic was not only used for the better of all human beings or otherwise, but it was also embraced by individuals whose morals revolved around greed and hate. Multiple battles had ensued between mages all around the country, and this forced Belcross to take action once more. With the help of the allies he had accumulated throughout the years, he was able to negotiate with other countries, and create that which is known as the Mahō Hyōgīn, the Magic Council; an organization which governed the law of magic.

It is unknown how Belcross spent the remainder of his years after that. Some speculate that the man was overtaken by the shadows of his past and the ghosts of war. Others believed that he simply retired to a quiet piece of land after having given such a large part of himself for the safety of the world. Not many documents remain of those times, and it cannot be clearly stated what happened to the man. What was known, however, was what he left for the world: morals, ideals, teachings, and an example by which the people of Earthland abide by even today.

Lucy sighed as she thought back, and couldn't help but wonder what the world before magic was like. Belcross, as far as she could remember, was born just before the invasion of magic, and that meant he was born in the technological era preceding the years of X. It was quite interesting for her, and at one point in time she tried to dig up various research and historical documents written on the knowledge of the old society. She knew that the world was nothing like today; due to humans overexerting the world's resources, the planet itself was already dying. The new power that was magic invading Earthland worked as a form of remedy for this, as it rejuvenated the nature and the wildlife, clearing the skies, cleansing the oceans, and inhabiting the deserts and the ruins of cities forgotten.

The Great Magi War was like the price humanity had to pay for a second chance. The world was saved, and then humanity was at risk to prove themselves worthy to continue their civilization. Many sacrifices were made, and many lives were lost, but humanity, due to its unusual stubbornness, prevailed. It was poetic, really, and romantic, in a way, and history seemed like the one thing Lucy looked back to for inspiration whenever she wrote anything.

* * *

Holding her bag, the blonde woman stepped out of the class, closely followed by the rest of her classmates from 3A. She took her class schedule from her uniform's pocket, and frowned, "Combat prep isn't even a part of my Major… what gives?"

"Weren't you told?" Jellal's smiling face emerged from the crowd before he took Lucy's schedule and gave it a quick look through, "This Academy offers a large variety of subjects to choose from that are outside of your Major and are sure to help you out after graduating."

"Offers a great variety? Doesn't that mean I get to choose from something?"

The blue haired man scratched his chin, "Well, yeah… Oh! That's right! On Sunday, just before classes for this academic year started, students could come in to change their schedules because they are initially made for them. Even I had to come in to switch up a couple of things."

'_S-Sunday…? I wasn't informed of this…_' Lucy thought with some dread, a trail of sweat running down her cheek at the thought of having to fight Erza… in class, of all places. Jellal's laugh woke her from her musings, and his hand landed on her shoulder.

"Don't worry; it's not as bad as you might think." He tried to reassure her, yet she didn't seem all that convinced. He hummed to himself, and tried to figure out a way to get her hopes up.

"Move."

"Oh, sorry." Jellal chuckled sheepishly as he moved away from the doorway and looked over his shoulder to find out whose path he had been obstructing. Lucy's eyes widened slightly when she saw a mop of pink hair, and she almost voiced out his name. Jellal, on the other hand, didn't seem as amused, but only narrowed his eyes at the man, "Hey, Natsu! That excuse may work on teachers, but it won't fly with me. Why didn't you come in on Monday?"

"I had stuff to take care of." The pinkette replied apathetically as he walked past the blue haired man, throwing his backpack over his shoulder. An audible click of the tongue came from Jellal as he didn't seem all that content with Natsu's answer, and he grabbed his arm.

"You were in the _Arena _again, weren't you?!" Fernandes growled out his question, and a sigh escaped Dragneel's throat. Suddenly, faster than Lucy could even notice, Natsu began to turn around, and in turn grabbed Jellal's hand and twisted it, forcing him to show the pinkette his back.

"Know your place, _Fernandes_, and mind your own damned business." He stated harshly, and, just when Jellal was about to retaliate, he let go of his hand and took a few steps back, "Stop concerning yourself with me, it's unsightly." He then faced Lucy, who gasped at the contact of gazes, "And you – stop staring at me all the time like I'm some kind of freak show. It's creepy." He said coldly, and simply chose to leave the area.

"What… what the hell just happened?" The blonde questioned after a few moments of complete silence, clueless as to what had just occurred. Natsu seemed like the calm, quiet type. But then, next thing you know, he becomes violent and mouths off!

Jellal groaned as he rubbed his shoulder, "He can be a handful at times, but deep down I know he's a good guy. Strong as all hell too." He complimented, but Lucy still thought that nothing he said made sense. Suddenly, Erza came out of the class too, a both annoyed and tired expression painting her features.

"Natsu again?" She said, and Jellal simply nodded at the question as he stared at the pinkette's retreating form just before he turned a corner. She sighed, "What are we going to do with him?"

"What's the deal with him anyway?" Lucy asked after a few moments of silence and after they started heading for their next class, "I mean, he got violent way too soon. It's just too different a vibe compared to the rest of the class!"

Both Erza and Jellal chuckled at the statement about their class, finding it somewhat amusing and reassuring how well Lucy adapted to their whole group, "He's… complicated." Erza stated, and paused, mulling over her thoughts to try and discern what she could and couldn't disclose about him, "On top of being the heir to an extremely wealthy and powerful konzen, he's got personal issues he's been dealing with ever since he entered. Before that, from what I can tell. Even I don't know the full story. I don't know if it's because of that or something else, but he refuses to show his magic to anyone. Only Jellal has seen the full extent of his power." She glanced towards the tattooed man, and he nodded.

"Yeah… It's no joke that he's a beast. Even without magic, his physical capabilities are at the heights of what this academy can offer. Only a few can actually match him strength-wise." Jellal explained, but Lucy noticed that he purposely avoided talking about Natsu's magic. This seemed somewhat suspicious to her, and she wanted to know more, but then, something hit her.

"Wait, he's the heir of a konzen? Which one?" She questioned, a puzzled expression on her face as she stared back at the pair.

"What? Didn't you know?" The bluenette answered with a question to which Lucy simply shook her head, "He's the descendant of the one who created this academy - _Nova Belcross_."

_..._

"WHAT?!"

* * *

Lucy sat next to Erza on a bench in the fighting area of Belcross Academy, wearing her sports outfit, much like the rest of her class. The two girls watched as the guys all lined up in an assembly of sorts, as ordered by their teacher, and waited for them to be done with their routine training so the girls' turn could come.

The blonde's eyes were focused on one man in particular. She knew that after his warning she truly should have stopped staring at him, but she just couldn't help it. He was a mystery, a too intriguing mystery, and she felt like she _needed_ to get to the bottom of it. The man himself was wearing a white tank top which seemed like it was glued to his body, clearly showing all the lines of the muscles on the upper part of his body, combined with grey sweatpants and white sneakers. He had a bored expression on his face, and was staring at the ground lazily with his hands in his pockets.

The tidbit of information she had received from Erza and Jellal still shocked her. Natsu was the heir of the Belcross konzen; that was something she truly did not expect. She kept wondering what that made him in this school, whether it was royalty or the rightful owner. No, she knew who was the principal and governing image of the institution, and the man was definitely not from the Belcross family. But then, another question arose in her mind, '_Why isn't he using his family name?_'

"Hey, shape up. You guys look pathetic." A tall man of dark orange hair said with a grin on his face as he watched all the guys present, "Why the long faces? Come on! You look hopeless in front of all the girls!"

"Give us a break, Gildarts-san. We just got out of history." Loki stated with a yawn, and even Lucy was surprised that the guy wasn't keeping up his 'girl-hungry' stature and instead was simply lazing around.

"Even if you were in Yajima's class, that doesn't give you the right to sleep through class, you know? Girls don't like lazy guys."

Gray scoffed, "Like you'd know anything about girls, you old pervert." He said with a barely visible smirk on his face, and Lucy wondered why the guys, sans Natsu, all shared a chuckle between themselves.

Gildarts sweatdropped, "You aren't going to drop that one, are you? I told you that was an accident! An accident!" The older man defended, and rubbed the back of his head when none of the guys seemed convinced. He sighed in defeat before a grin appeared on his face, "I know how to get you guys to wake up. Let's have all of you get into pairs and have a sparring session. We'll see how much you remember from last year."

All the guys simultaneously groaned in annoyance, and were forced to get into groups of two. It seemed as if the number of guys was uneven, and there was one person left without a partner. Consequentially, and unsurprisingly, that one person was Natsu.

"What am I going to do with you?" Gildarts questioned aloud, and the pinkette simply shrugged as a response. The man looked around the other guys, "Oi, Droy, sit this one out. Jet, you're up. Partner up with Natsu."

"N-Natsu…? But sensei…"

"No buts. Come on, as far as I know he doesn't bite. You guys are up." He reassured with a laugh as he pushed the guy towards the pinkette. Natsu himself sighed at the sight of Jet staring at him like he was some ghost.

"Come on." The pinkette said, and went to the middle of the training grounds together with his peer while the rest of the guys all stepped back, watching the fight with interest.

Gildarts stood in the middle of the two, and looked over them both, "I authorize the use of magic in this fight. Just don't get too wild, okay?" He said, yet his mind had different thoughts, '_With Jet's speed, Natsu might be forced to use magic as well._'

"I see what he's doing. That won't work though." Jellal said as he sat down next to Erza. Lucy glanced at him curiously.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Just watch."

"Alright, you two know the drill; this is a friendly fight. No trying to kill each other, and keep property damage to a minimum. Attacking southward being a no-no is self-explanatory, am I right? Okay, with that out of the way... fight!" The teacher shouted with a wave of his hand, and took a few good steps back to give the two students room to spar.

As soon as the call to arms was given, Jet launched himself towards Natsu at extreme speeds, and pushed his fist forward towards the pinkette's face. However, with a swift and slight movement of his head, the fist passed millimeters by his cheek, and held no contact. Gritting his teeth, the man attempted a kick at the pink haired individual's legs, yet that was also dodged when Natsu simply stepped back and created some distance between them.

"He's barely able to dodge!" Lucy exclaimed, watching the fight intently.

"No, that's not quite right." Jellal argued, yet he was also drawn into the fight, observing it like a hawk, "Jet uses a form of magic derived from High Speed magic. Kotari, or God Leg, in other words. He's extremely fast, that can't be denied, but…"

"But?" Heartfilia questioned eagerly, wondering how the hell that refuted her statement from before.

"Natsu's evading like that on purpose." The redhead sitting between them explained, "He knows that Jet is fast, and the way he's dodging, with a minimum amount of movement, is the best way to deal with a speed-type. In simple terms, he does not allow his body any major movements so he could transition into the next move swiftly and, in turn, dodge multiple attacks in quick succession with maximum efficiency. That, and slight movements do not require much time or effort to accomplish, which, combined with Natsu's extremely sharp perception and reaction time, allows him to keep up with his opponent."

Lucy stared wide-eyed at both Erza and Jellal, and she couldn't help but be amazed by how fast the two could deduce the capabilities of both fighters and their battle plans. She didn't know whether it was because they knew of their abilities or not, but it was quite the amazing feat to be able to discern what the fighters were doing when they were moving at such speeds.

"Hit damn it!" Jet exclaimed in anger as he attempted to smash his fist against the pink haired guy's abdomen. Natsu seemingly made no movements to dodge, and a gasp of shock was shared by the people present when his attack looked like it made contact.

Gildarts sighed, "So he's not using magic today either, huh…?"

Jet's eyes widened when he noticed that Natsu had caught his fist inches before it made contact, and held it firmly in the palm of his hand. Before he could even notice, Natsu's shoulder slammed against his face, making him stagger a few feet back. The pinkette, however, was not done, and took one step forward, combining the momentum of his movements to inflict a palm-strike on Jet's chest that sent him flying back a good ten meters before landing on the ground.

Natsu's eyes remained locked on the orange haired man, his gaze sharp and dead-serious, and his overall posture was screaming battle readiness. He raised one of his hands steadily, and motioned for Jet to attack him as he looked down on him.

"That bastard…" Jet growled quietly as he stood up, "I won't lose!" His legs suddenly began glowing, and he bolted towards the pinkette who stood calmly in his place and waited. Suddenly, Jet's form darted to the side, and headed for the wall off of which he kicked off and proceeded to run along the ceiling, only later to jump back on the ground and circle Natsu at great speeds, causing apparitions of himself to appear around his opponent.

"W-woah…" Lucy voiced out in awe, her eyes trying to distinguish which one of the Jets surrounding Natsu was the real thing, "How is he that fast?"

"It's his magic. High Speed magic increases the speed of its wielder dramatically. In Jet's case, he uses his legs as the conduit for the spell, and that gives him maximum movement speed." Erza explained once more, and Lucy nodded in response.

"It's not only that." Jellal interjected with a smile when Jet's real body broke away from the wind encircling Natsu, yet the guy's apparitions still remained, "Due to it increasing in speed, it can make previously weak attacks much, much stronger."

Jet jumped towards a wall, and later used all of his appendages to launch himself from it directly at the pinkette, his speed seeming to be beyond what even the trained eye could see, "**Hayabusa Tenshō! (Falcon Heavenward)**" He shouted as he neared his target and disappeared in the cloud of magical energy that initially enveloped the form of the pink haired fighter.

A loud bang reverberated through the fighting area, and a single form was sent flying from the magical tent, enshrouded by smoke. The figure's form drug along the ground, and eventually came to a stop. Slowly, the makeshift magical cover faded to reveal Natsu standing on the ground with his legs slightly bent to retain a stable position, and his arms crossed near his face, with some smoke coming off of his front arm that he used to block the blow.

The smoke around Jet eventually cleared too, revealing the man's shocked expression. Natsu's eyes narrowed, "My turn."

"Here it comes." Jellal stated expectantly, and Lucy almost instinctively squinted her eyes to be able to catch every single moment of the fight. However, the same eyes widened in shock when Natsu launched himself from his position at speeds that almost matched Jet's, shocking the man beyond belief, before a downward diagonal swipe of the pinkette's fist smashed against his opponent's jaw, causing him to stagger. Without waiting for Jet to correct his posture, Natsu kicked at his stomach, and later grabbed his head and pushed it downwards so he could knee him square in the face, resulting in his neck jerking upwards.

"That's the main weakness of Jet's magic; he can only use his high speed after 'warming up'." Erza observed, her entire being focused into the fight which was becoming more and more one-sided with each passing second, "He can travel at great speeds seamlessly, but it seems like his body needs time to gain a high velocity. Right now, Natsu is using that to his advantage, and is battering him with hits that are too fast for Jet to build any momentum."

And just as she explained it, Lucy noticed the legitimacy of her words. Natsu just kept pummeling Jet; punch after punch, kick after kick, all of his attacks had a light weight behind them, and were focused mostly on speed. He did not hurl his arm back fully, nor did he try to use his full strength.

Suddenly, Jet was able to block one of the pinkette's strikes, and retaliated with his own barrage of attacks which started becoming faster with each hit sent. Soon, Natsu was forced to start blocking instead of dodging, and was pushed to the defensive, "There it is!" The orange haired man shouted as he stood on one of his hands in a handstand after having defended against one of Natsu's attacks, and charged one of his legs with his magical power. He kicked at the pinkette's head, but Natsu responded by moving his body to meet the attack with his shoulder.

"Oh he felt that one." Gildarts said through a smirk as he watched the fight unfold before his eyes, noticing how Natsu's face contorted into one of pain after receiving the hit. However, despite his words, he knew that the fight was coming to an end.

Jet used the motion of the hit to spin on his hands and get back on his feet. But what he did not expect was Natsu recovering from the initial damage he received too soon. He underestimated the pinkette's defense, and paid dearly when his chest was smashed in by the pink haired man's left fist. Natsu, having pushed his left shoulder forward and right shoulder backward, all the while standing sideways, hurled his right arm back fully and balled his palm into a fist before attempting to punch Jet's face directly using his full strength.

"That's enough!" Natsu's fist stopped inches from Jet's face as the man's wide eyes stared directly at his opponent's knuckles, a bead of cold sweat running down his cheek, "I've seen what you guys are capable of, take a breather." The older man instructed as he walked towards the two combatants, and the pinkette simply sighed before taking up a relaxed composure. He glanced at Jet once, and nodded in his direction, causing not only his, but other peoples' faces to take up an expression of pure shock.

Jellal chuckled at the sight, "Natsu never was one to disregard an opponent's strength, after all." He stated, and the redhead sitting next to him replied with a quiet 'yeah' while Lucy simply stared in bewilderment. In her mind, she was replaying the fight over and over, trying to measure Natsu's strength; a task which seemed impossible due to him not using his magic. However, despite this, she thought that the guy was strong, and she couldn't help but speculate what exactly would have happened if that last attack hit home.

Heartfilia watched as both combatants went to sit on a bench close to theirs, with Natsu sitting on the edge. She wondered what was going through his mind while he was fighting, and how he was able to remain so composed in the heat of battle when his opponent could have cashed in a finishing move if a single mistake was made.

"Alright, next." Gildarts instructed, and later the pair of Loki and Gray entered the scene and begun their fight, albeit without magic this time. Gildarts didn't want the whole fighting area to be frozen over, apparently.

The first part of the class passed on rather fast, with the guys getting pumped up after watching Natsu and Jet fight. They duked it out with each other, sometimes disregarding the teacher's warnings and using their magic; that, however, was quickly put to an end by the older man, and the guys who disobeyed the rules were sent to do at least two hundred push-ups each, depending on the severity of the misuse.

'_…brutal._' Lucy thought as she watched Jellal do an assigned number of three-hundred push-ups, his face having contorted into one of pure exhaustion and Erza simply shook her head at the man's antics.

Finally, it came the girls' time to shine, and it instantly opened up with a bout between Cana and Mirajane. The girls weren't allowed to use magic either, and Erza finally explained that magic is only allowed during examinations, the prep fights before exams, and the annual tournament between schools which is exclusive to third year students; in other words, the tournament gave a chance for seniors to show possible future employers their strengths to assure a job position right after graduation.

A few more fights came to an end, and Gildarts couldn't help but shake his head and laugh mockingly while staring at the guys who now seemed half-dead after most of them had to do a disastrous number of push-up exercises, "Pathetic ain't even the right word to describe you guys. You downright erect misery in those having to watch your pitiful squabbles. Take some notes from the girls!"

"Okay, on to the next fight." The man said as he looked over who was left, and his eyes locked on Lucy, "Why don't we test the new girl? Heartfilia, come over here."

'_...again with the new girl routine?_' Sighing in defeat, the blonde rose to her feet and stepped forward, awaiting for the teacher to announce who her opponent would be.

Gildarts grinned, "Erza, you're up."

To say that Lucy's face went blue was an understatement. The girl literally froze in place as the redhead took her place in front of Lucy and stared at her with a confident smile, "Even though you're new, I'm not going to hold back, Lucy."

'_Stop it with the new girl routine! Wait, no! You can call me the new girl all you want, just please don't make me fight Erza!_'

"Fight!"

'_Wait!_'

As soon as the fight started, Lucy found herself on the ground, with her hands being bound by the red haired beauty who truly seemed to be an unparalleled warrior… yet a merciless one at that. Heartfilia managed to get back up on her feet, but was thrust back to the ground soon after, feeling the taste of the wooden tiles beneath her feet every time her face hit the floor.

"Those push-ups don't seem all that bad compared to what Lucy has to go through, huh?" Gray questioned Jellal, and both men had terrified expressions on their faces. He nodded his head in response, and the pair kept imagining themselves in Lucy's position. Yes, push-ups definitely seemed like the lesser of two evils.

The fight continued for a few more moments and, after Gildarts realized that this was hopeless, it was eventually stopped. It had been brought to the teacher's attention that, even though the girl technically could use magic, she wasn't the straight-out melee-fighter type, unlike most of the other people in the class. He and Lucy had a conversation after the bout with Erza was over, and the older man further discovered that, not only could she not fight, she had not found her preferred type of magic yet, which was troubling for a third year. In the case of fighting mentality and strategy, she had all of it down due to being extremely apt at brainwork; however, her inability to do what mages do best was disconcerting.

Class was finally over, but Lucy was told to stay overtime in the fighting chambers. Gildarts had officially decided to help the girl out, and told her that he would train her how to fight so she could at least match her peers and be able to pass the final examinations. She was extremely reluctant at first, stating how much she did not like fighting, but her protests were quickly calmed after the man explained that, even if she had a different Major, combat prep was a necessity if she wanted to graduate from the academy. Thus Lucy literally had no more room for argument, and was forced to agree with Gildarts' terms. What she didn't like, however, was that the man insisted they begin now, especially after she had to decline an invitation from Levy to join the literature club because of it.

* * *

"So tired…" Lucy mumbled under her breath as she drug her feet along the streets of Incendi square, trying to keep herself from stumbling to the ground after the grueling five hours of training spent with her 'amazing' sensei. When the guy meant training, he wasn't kidding. For the whole time she spent training Lucy had to do physical work, as well as training with magic, testing out different weapons, trying out different types of magics, and similar things which all built up and made her want to punch a wall out in outrage… if she had the strength or energy left to, that is.

She tried to remember the syllabus she had received prior to the start of class, and she realized that the first examinations were the midterms, which would happen in around two or three months. Twelve weeks she would have to spend every second school day like this and walk like the living dead afterwards. To say that she was not pleased with the thought was yet another understatement, but she knew how much she needed this training. Even though Lucy had the brainpower of a Special Forces' intelligence operative, she lacked any training in the field of fighting, and was utterly terrible at it in every sense of the word.

"Better three hours too soon than a minute too late, I guess…" She muttered through a sigh, thinking that it was a good idea that Gildarts had decided to take her under his wing, "…huh? Is that…?" She suddenly noticed a certain someone in the distance, and her eyes locked on his pink hair as the familiar individual walked along the sidewalk of the square, and turned a corner into a dark alley.

The girl didn't know what it was, either curiosity or plain stupidity, but she was inclined to find out where exactly the man was heading. She realized that she would probably regret it later, especially after what happened the other night, but her need to know clawed away at her, and she wanted to silence the voices in her head that kept urging her to go.

So she took a step forward, and crossed the street after having checked for cars. She was dead tired, but that's exactly what happens when a desire is strong enough – you gain strength you didn't even know you had.

She followed him into the alley, carefully maintaining some distance from him lest he spot her, and, with steeled eyes and determination, she stepped into the shadows.

'_What are you up to…?_'


	3. Salamander

_**A/N:** Another week, another chapter. I'll try to cook at least one more up before the end of the week, promise. College is getting quite annoying with all those stupid-ass midterms, but Spring Break is next week, so yay!_

_Thanks for all the reviews you great people have been putting up. I know I said it in the previous chapter, but every single review means a lot, no matter whether it's a whole damn essay of criticism, or a simple word of encouragement. Everything is appreciated, and know that I'm really thankful for your time and effort. This fic is my first actual attempt at a NaLu story, and, for some reason, even though I used to dislike the pairing, I've started loving it and I hope you love reading it as much as I do writing about it._

_Peace._

* * *

_**Memoirs of**** Desolation**_

* * *

As we move to sate our curiosities, some of which people might call insatiable, we ultimately start to comprehend the realities of this world. Like the saying goes, 'nothing is as it seems', and no one should judge a turn of events based on its foundations, and as unrealistic as it seems, even a mere peasant can reach the title of King if he or she desires it enough.

However, this is exactly where human capabilities hinder us. Every ambition is reachable, but not for everyone. A strong will and determination are needed to follow through with what you believe in, and those are the barriers that we set for ourselves in our moments of failure. This is what I have been taught, time and time again, in my journeys across the world. Nothing will be accomplished if you let one misstep bring you down to despair. Stand, and fight for what you believe in, because, no matter how many times you fall, you shall eventually learn from your mistakes and discover how to pass a hurdle which everyone would otherwise tell you is impossible to move onward from.

But alas, there are also times where we need to heed the signs and warnings surrounding us, and keep some things away from our minds. Looking back on the long 157 years that I've lived, I now realize that there were times when I needed to step down and let my curious nature eat away at the very essence that made me a mage. Some things are better left buried, and averting our eyes, I believe, is one of the most difficult things to do in this world.

Lucy groaned as she closed the old journal she had been reading, feeling as though all she was going through was some preaching of an old man from times forgotten. However, she dismissed this belief as soon as it came to her, because she knew that this man was speaking the truth. Some things are better left buried; that saying remained stuck in her head, and she realized that what she was doing was completely contrary to something she agreed on.

Her mind focused on the events of last night. She remembered how she tailed the mysterious pink haired man through numerous alleyways; she made sure to triple-check that he didn't catch on that she was following him, and she was one-hundred-and-ten percent sure he didn't realize. However, that wasn't the problem. Her own scaredy-cat nature was the problem!

As the night went on, hours passed, and, eventually, Natsu had led her to a sort of arena building near what Lucy could tell was Vextra harbor, judging by the buildings' designs. Her phobias started haunting her as she passed many a shady fellow walking along the desolate streets, watching her with what seemed to be both unquenched greed and lecherous desire. Her mind inadvertently phased back into the memory of Bora attacking her, and that made her evening all the more uncomfortable.

Eventually, Natsu neared the large structure he was going for, and went through a bouncer to get in. Lucy, on the other hand, could not force her hand to even attempt going in through the same way the pinkette did; it just seemed like an impossible task for someone like her. Truth be told, if she had a disguise of some sort, or at least if she wasn't wearing her academy's uniform, the girl could have probably lied to the bulking man and gotten in the same way Natsu did. But fear took its toll on her, and momentarily blocked her sense of curiosity, prompting the girl to leave the premises as fast as she could, only to get back to class the next morning and be chewed away by a chance left untaken.

Thinking back on the old journal, Lucy pondered whether what she chose was the right move or not. No, that's not quite right. As she glanced at the snoring pinkette from the corner of her eye, she wondered whether or not the fact that she still found him intriguing was a good thing, or even a remotely explanatory one. As far as she knew, he was an enigma. He was strong, yet he wouldn't show anyone his strength. He was a part of one of the most powerful konzens out there, yet he wouldn't act like it. There were many other irregularities about him, and none of them led to a desired outcome, that much Lucy was sure of.

The girl eventually sighed, her patience running thin because of her own antics. Since when was she this shy or scared? Used to be she'd face anything head on, but now… now it seemed like she was scared to even look in the direction of the one piquing her curiosity. She suddenly leaned back in her seat and sat straight, her eyes adamant and her resolve steeled; it's high time she shed that which was hindering her, whatever it was, and faced her problem head on. Nodding to herself, she promised herself she would confront Natsu and find out everything she needed to know.

…or she would have, if the bell announcing class hadn't rang and, in turn, killed her motivation. She let her head slump down in defeat, '_The world just isn't with me today._'

* * *

Lucy stood outside of class right after the bell signaling its end rung. After all the training with Gildarts the other day, she could definitely say she knew the phenomenon that was muscle pain. In simpler terms, she was aching all over, and sometimes even had trouble walking. But she realized that was her own fault; neglecting the use of magic wasn't something a mage should be proud of.

She waited patiently while all the members of 3A left the premises of the classroom, and, as soon as her target was in view, she called out to him, catching his attention and prompting his onyx eyes to focus on her form; an action that somehow managed to challenge her determination, but she needed to get it out of her and get it straight from him.

"What is it?" Natsu asked in a rough tone; no, more like he _commanded_ her to speak.

"Um…" She paused, trying to find the right words. After having stood around awkwardly for a few brief moments, the blonde girl exhaled sharply, and figured she should ask in a straightforward manner, "Were you the one that… _helped_ me out back in the harbor?"

The pinkette's eyes narrowed, and she could tell he was thinking about something; maybe he was trying to remember the events of a few days ago – she didn't know, "No, I have no idea what you're talking about. You have me mixed up with someone else."

"Huh?" The girl voiced out cluelessly, the words slowly registering in her mind. That definitely wasn't the answer she was expecting, "B-but… I saw-"

"I told you it wasn't me." He replied sharply in the same tone he used before, "Now, can I go? Or do you have any other pointless questions you need to bother me with?" He questioned, more rhetorically than anything seeing as how he just turned around and started leaving the area without a second thought.

Lucy, trying to regain her barings, was not about to let the guy simply walk away like that after giving her such a roundabout answer. She ran towards him, and stood in his way. Noticing the way he was glaring at her, the blonde had to concentrate every single fiber in her body to be able to return the same gesture, "Where were you going yesterday? I saw you near the same harbor."

The pink haired man in question groaned in exasperation, "You're seriously annoying the crap out of me, _blondie_. How many times do I need to tell you to get out of my face before it gets through that thick skull of yours, huh?" Natsu growled almost like a savage beast, his natural posture seeming like a towering giant to the blonde girl, "I'm telling you this for the last time – mind your own damned business before someone, namely _you_, gets hurt." He finished before continuing on his way, ramming his shoulder against Lucy's as a last warning, the action resulting in the woman momentarily losing her balance.

The girl stood in place for a short while, her body completely frozen, devoid of any motion. Just for a brief second, Lucy could have sword she felt a massive surge of magical energy from the pinkette, and it felt like nothing she had ever felt before. What magic she had felt in the past was serene, peaceful, warm… whereas his was like a blazing inferno, scorching anything it touched and leaving nothing but ash in its wake.

"You felt it, didn't you?" A voice rung out from behind her, startling her and making her gasp before she turned around to notice Jellal leaning on the classroom's doorway, staring at the pinkette's retreating figure with a frown. He sighed, and stepped out of the room to face Lucy, "I'm sorry for the way he's been acting, but can you please not tell anyone about what you felt just now?" He questioned, and noticed the confused expression on her features, "Look, I can't fully explain it, but trust me when I say that he has a very good reason for hiding his magic. That last bit of pressure he sent your way was a concentrated blast of magical power that he made sure wouldn't span a large radius."

Lucy mulled over the explanation for a short while, "Why does he go to such lengths to keep people away from himself? It's weird!"

The blue haired man scratched his cheek, a small bead of sweat running down his temple in annoyance towards his pink haired classmate, "It's… complicated."

"All any of you can say is 'it's complicated!' Stop giving me the runaround and just get out with it!" Lucy demanded, finally feeling her patience thinning.

Jellal's eyes widened slightly in surprise at Lucy's outburst. He remained silent for a few moments, trying to glue the pieces together, but nothing came to mind with the parts he was given. He realized, however, that the puzzle he was trying to put together was incomplete, "Tell me, why are you so interested in Natsu? I mean, you've only been here for less than a week, it's rather strange that you'd be so enthralled by him."

"I…" the blonde tried to find the right words to describe the situation at hand, and a rather uncomfortable silence enshrouded the area once again. Finally, she sighed, and nodded to herself inwardly, "He… He said it wasn't him, but… remember the time I came to class with a head injury?"

"You said you fell." The blue haired man answered after a nod of his head, and Lucy hummed an affirmative.

"Yeah, that's true, but not entirely. I did fall, but it wasn't because I was clumsy or anything like that." Slowly, mustering up as much detail as she could from her rather fuzzy memories, Heartfilia explained everything that happened on that faithful Monday evening, how the tram had been cut off, how she was forced into Vextra harbor, and how Bora tailed and assaulted her with his goons; and lastly, the mysterious individual that appeared out of nowhere and saved her - a peculiar person with an uncanny resemblance to Natsu.

Jellal listened to the story intently, nodding to each statement as soon as Lucy told him of it. Finally, it began to make sense to him, and when she was done with her story, the student council president couldn't help but chuckle at the revelation both in relief and exasperation, "What's so funny?" Lucy asked with slightly narrowed eyes, wondering if he was making fun of her overall situation.

"Ah, no, it's nothing." He said while running his hand through his hair, "He saved you, huh… I guess he does keep true to his promises." A small, heartwarming smile plastered itself on Fernandes' expression, and the blonde girl felt even more confused than before. However, before she could speak again, Jellal intervened, "Alright, now that I know the entire situation, I guess I can help you out."

Suddenly, Lucy's eyes lit up in expectation, "Really?"

"Yes, really." The bluenette nodded in affirmation, "It's going to be dangerous though, so you'll have to stick close to me." Jellal looked around to make sure no one was in the hallway, and lowered his voice, "Natsu's gotten himself into some really nasty business with the underground world of Vextra, particularly with a certain gang named Eisenwald, who've been organizing an event called 'The Reaper's Arena'. Trust me, it's as ominous as it sounds."

"'The Reaper's Arena'…?" Lucy repeated under her breath, and Jellal gave an affirming 'yeah' as an answer.

"It's a sort of underground fighting ring where shady people with a less than clean slate gather to win money via bloodshed. And, from what I've heard, there's a lot of it."

"…and Natsu's a part of that?" The blonde questioned, something akin to fear shaping her voice. Fernandes didn't miss that change in her demeanor, and a small frown formed on his face, yet again directed towards his pink haired classmate.

"Sadly, yes. But I'm sure he has a reason for it." Jellal folded his arms under his chest, "In any case, I'll have to contact someone to get us in there. Do you have training with Gildarts today?"

"Wha- today?" '_He wants to get us in there?!_' She dreaded inwardly, feeling both her anxiety and fear rising even higher. Now she realized why people were straying away from the pinkette, and why most of them didn't even bother with him in the first place. In the back of her head, she realized that she should leave him alone as well, but the piercing gaze Jellal was giving her reaffirmed her initial thoughts, even if just slightly. She couldn't back down now; she went as far as following him, almost pulling at her hair to find out what the hell was up with him. Backing down now would only make her a stupid blonde with nothing more to do than haunt guys until she realized that they were no good, and that didn't sit well with her, "Okay, when?"

"I'll text you the details as soon as I get them, but expect it by late evening today." He informed, and Lucy nodded as well.

"We're going too." A voice rung out from behind them, and both Lucy and Jellal glanced over their shoulders worriedly to notice Gray and Erza standing near the classroom, both of them watching the other pair with serious eyes.

"E-Erza… since when have you…?" Jellal stuttered out in shock, and the woman in question only shook her head.

"Since the very beginning."

"You two ain't exactly inconspicuous about it, you know?" The raven haired man interjected, and Jellal's eyes focused on his orbs.

"Nevermind Erza, why do you even care? I thought you said you didn't want to associate yourself wi-"

"Isn't it obvious?" Gray offered a rebuttal, to which Jellal responded with only a curious gaze, "Yes, that idiot pisses the living crap out of me, but it doesn't change the fact that he's from the same class. If one of _us_ is in trouble, isn't it the job of everyone to help them out?" He paused, "And besides that, I've known the guy my entire life. He's always been an annoying prick, but now he's going off the deep end and it's annoying that he keeps doing that to himself, by himself."

The redhead standing beside Gray smiled, and the bluenette they were confronting only sighed tiredly. All Lucy could do, however, was just listen in awe to the usually stoic yet now frustrated Gray's words. She didn't know that the two of them were acquainted with each other even before they entered Belcross Academy, but she assumed it was the same with most of 3A.

"In which case, I'll tag along whether you like it or not."

"For Heaven's sake…" The tattooed man complained before his attention shifted to the red haired woman, "And Erza? Do I even need to ask?"

Erza's eyes narrowed as she met the bluenette's gaze, "As Head of the Disciplinary Committee I cannot allow a student from our organization to keep participating in illegal activities such as the one he's been known to frequent. Punishment and discipline are in order."

Figures.

Jellal rubbed his face with the palm of his hand, "Whatever, fine. Do what you want." He said after a loud groan, "I swear to God, Shô is going to kill me when he hears about all of us going. Getting just two in would have been a pain in the ass by itself, but all four of us…" The blue haired man rambled on, yet the other three didn't mind it one bit; on the contrary, they completely ignored it and let Jellal be on his merry way to his next class.

Erza and Gray nodded to Lucy, and told her to be ready by evening, explicitly mentioning that she should have a disguise as to not identify her as a member of Belcross Academy. According to Erza, the people of the underworld despised those who were getting an education in magic, and if they were to so much as smell the scent of the academy on you, it warranted a death sentence.

After hearing all that, the blonde was left standing in the hallway by herself, pondering whether or not she had just gotten in over her head. Underground fights, gangs, disguises, infiltration, and a man that has been clawing away at her mind more than she'd like to admit. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Lucy had a feeling that her life was about to become much busier and rowdier than it ever was before.

* * *

After classes were done, evening had finally come, and all of the students of Belcross Academy had gone home. However, there were a certain five that were out late at night, separated into two groups. Four of them were to meet at eleven PM near Vextra's tram station, and, coincidentally, Lucy was the very first to come.

The blonde's hazel eyes examined her surroundings, and she felt a shiver run down her spine at the remembrance of both the incident with Bora and when she crossed a similar path to follow Natsu the other day. Neither of the memories was very pleasant, and the thought that she'd have to go through all that and more tonight was playing with her nerves. However, the realization that she wasn't alone this time calmed her, and the fact that strong mages were her chaperons only strengthened that slightly relaxing sensation.

The second to arrive was Fullbuster, and the two classmates greeted each other with small waves of their hands. Both of them were dressed similarly – with bleak, black garments, and hoodies that covered their faces from being seen. Erza had instructed both of them to remain inconspicuous, and Lucy had to admit that the two of them had it pretty much down to the letter.

They stood there together uneasily, and Lucy could feel the tension coming off of Gray; no matter what he said, she realized that he was both worried for the pinkette, and anxious for the events of tonight. To a degree, she shared that sentiment, but the feeling that was washing over her was fear more than worry. This was the first time she had even thought of doing something remotely as dangerous as this, and she was extremely hesitant about this to the point that she felt she would flee at any given second. Hell, she was feeling as though she was about to have an anxiety attack altogether.

Eventually Jellal and Erza showed themselves as well, wearing similar outfits to that of the other two. As soon as they met, the blue haired man of the group gave each and every person present a certain ID card that signaled them as VIPs in the show, and had informed them that the cards weren't easy to obtain, hence why they should try to maintain their cover to the best of their abilities.

Thus the group of four set off, each one of them having different thoughts and expectations of the events that were to come. Lucy carefully observed both Erza and Jellal, and she noticed that the two weren't afraid or anxious at all. It almost seemed as if they were used to this sort of thing. That or they just knew how to hide their emotions well – she couldn't tell.

After a few minutes of walking, the group finally reached their destination, and were standing in front of the huge bouncer person that Lucy had the displeasure of witnessing last night. As per Jellal's instructions, they were to stay a couple of feet back and let him do all the talking, and they obliged without question.

Moments later, a large grin morphed the large man's face, showing that he was lacking a good number of teeth, "Right this way please." He said as he pointed towards the entrance and the steps that led upstairs, and the blue haired man that was in the lead motioned for Erza, Gray, and Lucy to follow him. After a few more moments of walking, the four of them found themselves in a balcony of sorts, occupied by nothing except the four seats situated at the very edge so that they could observe the events of the night to their hearts' content.

Lucy walked to the very edge, and her eyes widened at the sight laid out before her. The building itself, true to every word, was much like an arena; a very spacious structure, with numerous balcony-like formations much like the one they were currently standing on covering its inner walls. There were around two hundred people on the lower level of the building, all of them making space in the middle for a sort of ring where a person of black hair and a white coat was standing on, holding a microphone in his hands.

"It's going start soon. Keep your eyes open." Jellal instructed, and the three others of the group focused their entire beings to observe what was to come.

"Thanks for coming, everyone." The announcer of black hair greeted somewhat happily, his eyes looking around all the people present as the spotlight shone down upon him, "I hope you are all ready for tonight's festivities." He added, and Lucy could tell that, contrary to his tone, this man wasn't the kind of person he was trying to make himself out to be.

As the shady two-faced man continued to speak, the blonde's eyes quickly investigated the people present, frantically searching for a mop of pink hair sticking out of the masses. She tried numerous times, circling through everyone as fast as she could, but to no avail. You'd think that pink hair would be sticking out more like a sore thumb in this bleak crowd, rather than a needle in a haystack.

"The name's Kageyama, and I'm here to start what I'm sure most of you are just _dying _to witness." He grinned from ear to ear, his eyes looking in between the masses who were roaring in anticipation, "Yes, the final round of The Reaper's Arena. Exciting, ain't it? However, for this particular round, we've made a few slight… _modifications_ that I'm sure will only spice things up." The announcement was met with extremely loud shouts of affirmation that reverberated along the walls of the arena, making it seem all the more louder, "This season we have a staggering amount of twenty participants, which is both staggering… and sad at the same time. It's amazing how you bloodsuckers even survive to reach this round. With that being said, we'll have to weed some of you out."

"This Kageyama dude pisses me off." Gray growled out while watching the spectacle before him, "Hell, this whole crowd is shady. What the heck is Natsu even doing here?"

"I know how you feel, Gray. But keep watching – I'm sure Natsu will turn up sooner or later. We're getting him out of here." Jellal said reassuringly, and Lucy was relieved to know that she wasn't the only one who thought that this whole charade was beyond disgusting. However, that thought alone, for some awkward reason, only served to strengthen her resolve to help her new friends get Natsu away from this vile place.

"Remember – only one of you can prove yourself worthy of fighting the Death God. Who knows, maybe this time the lucky bastard to fight him will survive." Kageyama released a manic laugh after the statement, and Lucy's stomach started churning when the crowd cheered in agreement once again, "Then, without further ado, may the _honored_ contestants please take the field."

The crowd started moving further away from the center, giving the participants more space. However, as soon as the first person participating in the fight made himself known, a punch to the face forced him to recoil back to the ground, only to stand back up and retaliate like a savage, "Whoa! Rowdy, ain't we? Not everyone managed to even get to the center and you're already going crazy." The announcer chuckled darkly, "Ah, who cares! Go wild!"

The fight erupted throughout the arena, with mad cheers pushing the fighters forward to slaughter each other. Soon, multiple small explosions covered the area when one of the fighters started using magical bombs, and Lucy had to cover her mouth in shock when shrieks of anguish temporarily muted the maddening chants of the crowd, only to later be muffled out by it once more.

A massive smokescreen covered the area, and multiple flashes were still discernable in the midst of it all, mixed together with the painful howling of the participants and the revolting cheering of the masses who gathered to watch this repulsive spectacle. Moments later, the dust started clearing in the very middle of the arena to reveal three participants with bloodied weapons standing in the middle, panting heavily while glaring at each other like mad beasts.

Suddenly, the dust from the edge of the fighting area shook, and a pink blur emerged from it using speeds most eyes couldn't catch. The figure's hand grabbed the back of a fighter's head, and smashed his face into the ground, cracking it under his strength.

"It's Natsu!" Lucy gasped, and she noticed Jellal heave a sigh of relief upon seeing his pink haired classmate. He was wearing a black leather jacket that was unzipped to reveal a white T-shirt, and his neck, going up to his mouth, was covered by his trademark white scaly scarf. The lower part of his clothing consisted of black jeans and white sneakers.

"Let's go get him!" Gray shouted, but was stopped by Jellal when the man extended his arm and blocked the brunette's way, "What the hell, Jellal?!"

"Calm down and use your head, Gray." The bluenette ordered through a calm voice, his eyes still watching the death match, and mainly remaining focused on Natsu, "If we go down there now, things might end up a little more than messy. Let him handle it himself, for now. We'll intervene when we see it going out of hand."

The smokescreen that was impairing the crowd's view eventually cleared to reveal a pile of bodies lying on the ground from where Natsu had emerged, all of whom seemed unconscious. Boos and cries of protest were heard by the remaining three participants, but none of them seemed to care as they stared each other dead in the eyes.

One of the fighters rushed blindly at Natsu, and Lucy knew that, against someone like the pinkette, a rash move like that wasn't going to do anything. True to her train of thought, the pink haired man easily dispatched of the fighter by simply sidestepping the attack, and elbowing the man's appendage so his arm shattered before he delivered an accurate chop to his neck, making the man fall on the ground, unconscious.

Natsu wasted no time in dealing with the other contestant. Instantly after the first one fell to the floor, the pinkette disappeared from view and reappeared near the remaining enemy a few moments later, delivering a strong uppercut to the man's abdomen that forced him to spew out blood before his body fell to the ground as well.

"Well, well… I'd say this is rather disappointing, seeing as how all of them are still alive, but I'm sure it's a shock for us all to see _you_ here." Kageyama's voice rung out through the speaker system, sounding more like a hiss than an actual voice, "You sure did a number on our participants, _Salamander_."

Natsu scoffed at the words, "Shut your trap, you disgusting waste of space, and bring out that pathetic Death God you're so proud of." Natsu's eyes were darkened by his hair, yet a dark and ominous afterglow could be seen through the cover of his pink locks, "There'll be nothing left of him when I'm done." The pink haired man growled lowly, and the whole area seemingly became covered in a deathly silence after his words.

Suddenly, a blast of wind came crashing down from the ceiling of the structure, prompting Natsu to roll out of the way to avoid it. The blast ripped through the fighting area, and changed its course towards the crowd, skewering anyone in its way before it exploded after hitting a wall.

"_Pathetic_? Do you realize who you're talking about, you stupid brat?" A low voice echoed in the area, and was later met with loud chants from the crowd that remained, unfazed that a portion of it just got blown away to smithereens. Right after the attack, a man emerged from the shadows, seemingly drifting in the air on top of a sharp scythe. He had silver hair, and wore a black scarf around his neck, with the other portion of his upper body being covered in nothing but tattoos and ripped bandages. The lower part of his body was covered in the same bandages, and different layers of rippled clothing.

"Finally decided to show yourself, eh? I thought you pissed your pants already." Natsu said through a grin, clenching both of his fists strongly before both the appendages became covered in extremely bright and volatile flames, illuminating the entire area and radiating with power.

Lucy's eyes widened at the sight of the fire covering the pinkette's arms, much like everyone else's, sans Jellal. The blonde could feel the power emanating from those flames, and she watched in awe at the blaze dancing around the mage. This wasn't normal magic, nor were these flames something that could remotely be considered as regular flames; that much Lucy could tell just from feeling the pressure surrounding the infernal mage, and it was the very same pressure she felt earlier today from the same man. However, this only served to pique her interest even further, and she was feeling quite excited to see the man in action.

'_Salamander, huh…?_'

"Let's see just how much of a God you truly are, _Shinigami_!"


End file.
